Custom controls in C# Windows Forms mouse event question

Question

I have a mouseenter and mouseleave event for a Panel control that changes the backcolor when the mouse enters and goes back to white when it leaves.

I have Label control within this panel as well but when the mouse enters the Label control, the mouseleave event for the panel fires.

This makes sense but how do I keep the backcolor of the Panel the same when the mouse is in its area without the other controls inside affecting it?

Answer 1

You can use GetChildAtPoint() to determine if the mouse is over a child control.

private void panel1_MouseLeave(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (panel1.GetChildAtPoint(panel1.PointToClient(MousePosition)) == null)
    {
        panel1.BackColor = Color.Gray;
    }
}

If the control isn't actually a child control, you can still use MousePosition and PointToScreen to determine if the mouse is still within the bounds of the control.

private void panel1_MouseLeave(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Rectangle screenBounds = new Rectangle(this.PointToScreen(panel1.Location), panel1.Size);
    if (!screenBounds.Contains(MousePosition))
    {
        panel1.BackColor = Color.Gray;
    }
}

Answer 2

I found a simple solution. I just set the enabled property to false on the label and it's fine.